Author Jennifer Chiaverini, who has written so many fine historical novels, turns her attention here to women who worked in munitions factories in England during World War I. Their work was often extremely dangerous as they were working with chemicals such as the TNT that was used in bombshells. There was always the possibility of explosions, and poisoning from the materials, which could lead to debilitating illnesses or ultimately, death. The term, Canary Girls, comes from the extreme yellowing of skin color from exposure to the TNT compound. In addition, their hair changed color, or turned white, and they experienced breathing problems and exhaustion, also due to their very long shifts and lack of time off.
She focuses here on several characters who represent different social classes. April was a working class young woman who "went into service" as a maid at a manor house. She left her position at the urging of her friend, Marjorie, and at the factory they received higher wages, better food, and compared to maids' 24/7 work conditions, shorter and defined hours. Lucy was a middle-class woman married to an aspiring architect who was also an Olympic medal finalist and champion footballer (soccer player). After her husband enlisted in the military, she took a factory job to help support herself and their sons. Helen, the daughter of a German-born classics professor at Oxford, married a man who, as the son of a very wealthy sewing machine business owner, became the boss at the munitions plant when their company converted output into wartime manufacturing. Helen, a very progressive woman, looked for a role at the factory, and became an advocate for the women employees and their working conditions.
The other thing the women all share is athletic ability and an interest in football. They become members of the factory's women's football team and begin playing against other teams in a league. Helen is instrumental in supporting the team and is eventually enlisted as a player. Their football team helps unite the women and raises their spirits.
As the war drags on, there are various challenges both personally and professionally for each of the characters. As readers, we become aware of the deprivations of food and other commodities and the fear engendered by German bombings, as well as the measures taken against German nationals or those of German descent living in England at the time. This is all probably less well-known to most of us in the United States, as the emphasis on all of these aspects has been more widely reported about World War II, perhaps because it is more recent, and many of us grew up in that post war era.
All is all, this is a very compelling read, and there is a lot to learn about this time period, including how America's late entry into the war was viewed. On the whole, I greatly enjoyed it. However, there was one glaring error that could and should have been avoided: when Helen wants to tour the factory, her husband admonishes her about wearing any metals as she makes her rounds, but also silk and nylon garments. When I saw "nylon" I had to pause, as I was quite sure that nylon did not exist during World War I. I was correct: it came into being in the 1930s in a DuPont laboratory. https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/nylon-a-revolution-in-textiles/ I am really surprised that either the author or her editor were not aware of this. Finding an error like this, I wonder if there could be others? I'd be interested in learning about other readers' discoveries, if there are any. In any case, this detail, which occurred fairly early in the book haunted me, and is what caused me to knock off the fifth star I might have otherwise given it.
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